FBI claims violent crime down in US

Usual lazy piece of journalistic reporting which doesn't tell readers how data recorded and whether any changes have been made in what is recorded. Nor does the journalist tell us whether there is agreement from victim surveys. At least we are told that no absolute numbers have been given: only percentages. A link to the full report is available at: http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan08/ucr_statistics010708.html
To give the FBI its due, the press release includes the following disclaimer:
"Because of the complexities involved, the FBI makes no attempt to interpret the data, which we leave to criminologists and sociologists. And, as always, we caution against ranking or comparing crime rates in cities from year to year, which do not account for the many variables that impact the volume and scope of crime in specific locations."
Now someone somewhere probably discusses this in their blog. It would be great if SGOC members started their own discussion by commenting on the figures in this blog.